Chapter 12: First Encounter, Holy Knight Edwina

Vilyric was certain that this guy was definitely running toward them on purpose.

The reason was easily guessed.

When people encounter danger, they unconsciously look for anything that could help them. Since Vilyric and Xiao Guang appeared in the depths of Dragonfall Valley, they surely didn’t seem as fragile as they looked.

By guiding that giant beast’s pursuit, he could either pull them into the escape team or force them to confront the guy behind them; either way, it would benefit Francis in escaping.

Clearly, his scheme had succeeded.

Moreover, this guy had just tried to grab her hand intentionally, making it hard to argue that he didn’t have any ulterior motives.

Even now, Francis was still keeping over two meters of distance from Vilyric, especially from Xiao Guang, and his hand never left his staff, indicating that he was ready for a fight at any moment.

He wasn’t as friendly as he pretended to be.

Just thinking about this made Vilyric feel disgusted towards the man in front of her who feigned righteousness.

Though she wanted to directly teach Francis a lesson, their relationship hadn’t deteriorated to that extent yet—after all, one didn’t strike a smiling face. Besides, it seemed that this group of adventurers was hastily cobbled together, and Francis’s actions appeared to be more personal judgment as captain.

These people weren’t all in the same boat, and if she acted out, she would undoubtedly create enmity with the whole lot, potentially leading to their destruction. While Vilyric thought that it wouldn’t be a big deal to do so, she wasn’t brutal enough to kill someone just because they disagreed.

Since her investigation hadn’t yielded any leads, she figured she might as well see if she could extract some information from this group. For now, she’d just note this grudge.

“Vilyric, this is my maid, Xiao Guang.”

The introduction of the two of them was as brief as possible. The Priestess wanted to talk with the innocent-looking—cough, very honest—Holy Knight girl, but someone unwittingly barged in.

“Oh! What a beautiful name, just like your bright and charming countenance. Ladies, even the Goddess would admire your beauty. Where do you come from, and why?”

Ah, how annoying this Francis was.

Go ahead and flatter, but the wording and tone were so awkward it was hard not to want to punch him in the face!

“Is that any of your business?”

So, her body reacted before her mind even caught up.

“Uh…?”

His graceful smile froze on his face, and Francis looked a bit embarrassed, a flicker of unseen malice flashing in the depths of his eyes.

But he reacted quickly, immediately switching to a seemingly carefree grin.

“Ha ha ha, Miss Vilyric speaks bluntly—it was my rudeness.”

Saying that, his eyes turned as he continued.

“I’m Francis, an Earth-tier adventurer active in Flame Dragon City, specializing in fire and lightning magic. This young man is Marlon, also an elite adventurer based in Flame Dragon City, a thief skilled in reconnaissance and harassment, of the Ink Steel level.”

Without waiting for Vilyric to show whether she wanted to listen or not, Francis continued, pointing to the strong man and the female Holy Knight.

“Barret, same as above, Ink Steel level shield warrior, with extremely high defense. Even I find it hard to break through his guard—a reliable guardian in the team. And this is…”

Francis paused slightly, seemingly unfamiliar with the blonde Holy Knight lady, hinting for her to introduce herself.

This proved Vilyric’s suspicion.

These people weren’t all in it together; it was clear that Francis had mentioned it was a temporary adventuring team, suggesting that their cooperation wasn’t perfect. Otherwise, if they coordinated, handling that rolling magical beast of about Sky-tier wouldn’t have been impossible.

Seeing all attention suddenly focused on her, the Holy Knight lady appeared to have just snapped back to reality from the recent thrilling chase and quickly bowed her head, introducing herself awkwardly.

“I-I am Edwina Cecelia, a Holy Knight who set out from the City of Angels for training. I recently became a Fearless Knight. Hearing that magical beasts have been causing havoc here, the Goddess above! I couldn’t just sit back and ignore it, so I came with Mr. Francis and the others to investigate… P-please take care of me!”

The Holy Knight named Edwina looked a bit anxious, completely unable to meet Vilyric’s silver-blue eyes, and her face even turned a bit red.

Such a cute demeanor, like a frightened little animal, made the once-grumpy Priestess feel a bit better, a pleasant smile tugging at her lips.

Perhaps this girl with a delayed reaction just realized how much hassle they caused the two beautiful girls in front of them during their fleeing.

However…

“Edwina Cecelia, huh…”

Vilyric had of course never heard of the Holy Knight’s name, but the surname seemed quite significant.

In this world, most races could name their children however they liked, but not everyone could have a surname. Those with surnames typically belonged to prominent nobility or had been granted a title by royalty.

For instance, Vilyric knew of the Fifth Princess of the Kingdom, Liliya Meikailande, the former world’s greatest archery master, Antonio Stevenson, and the lord of Flame Dragon City, Nastaia Siniel.

People like Hua and even Layton, who rose from humble beginnings, could achieve great things, yet may not necessarily receive a surname because it represented family lineage and inherited power—surnames weren’t just handed out carelessly.

So, this seemingly clueless Holy Knight revealed her surname, essentially disclosing that she was a noble of substantial background.

The pure golden long hair unique to the Holy Empire, as opposed to Xiao Guang’s light blonde, also confirmed Edwina’s lineage.

Besides, the City of Angels—Vilyric remembered that it should be the capital of the Holy Empire. In general, it was referred to as the Holy City in the kingdom.

Glancing at the white cross holy emblem adorned with six wings hanging from Edwina’s neck, the Priestess understood.

This little girl was no ordinary character.

Just a bit naive; it’s no wonder she got tricked into working for someone like Francis.

“Hello, I am Vilyric; please treat me well.”

Seeing the black-haired girl break from her usual demeanor to extend a pale hand, Edwina blinked in surprise before hurriedly wiping her hands on her armor and shaking Vilyric’s hand.

“I-I must thank you and your companion for saving me!”

Wow, look at the manners on this girl! Much better than some greasy uncle who doesn’t understand gratitude and tries to worm his way into getting close by probing for information.

Seizing the opportunity, Vilyric turned to the Holy Knight and asked.

“Miss Edwina, could you please tell me what happened earlier? Why were you being chased by that giant beast?”

“Um, of course! It’s like this…”

Thus, the unsuspecting Edwina began narrating in detail the experiences of their party before encountering Vilyric and Xiao Guang, completely oblivious to the warning glances from a certain Mage.

Unlike Vilyric, who was merely pretending to be a noble lady, Edwina was truly a daughter of a grand family going off on her first solo training. This was her first departure from the City of Angels where she had grown up, and prior to this, the Holy Knight had been training diligently under her teacher.

Her faith in the Goddess was pure and unwavering, which facilitated her rapid progression; at just seventeen, she had become a Fearless Knight equivalent to an Earth-tier powerhouse.

To further improve herself and refine her spirit and will, she registered as an adventurer on her teacher’s instruction and set out on her journeys.

Upon reaching Flame Dragon City, Edwina happened to see the mission to investigate Dragonfall Valley on the guild’s bulletin board and accidentally encountered Francis and the others, who were struggling without a healer due to some unexpected events.

Upon learning that Francis’s group also intended to take on this quest, Edwina, eager to help the locals, naturally “hit it off” with them and “volunteered” to join their team.

After making sufficient preparations, they delved deeper into Dragonfall Valley to commence their investigation.

   

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